The time has come. Today we are unveiling the amazing entries in the Food Ninja Contest. Be afraid. Be very afraid! The humor, talent, and skill that has gone into each of these entries is amazing. I hope you enjoy them as much as Bella Ninja, Salty Ninja, and I have. I am listing each entry for each category below. Please look at the entries in each category and then vote on the entry that you think most embodies the “Food Ninja Spirit” in that category! Due to some technical difficulties, we weren’t able to get voting launched when we had originally planned, so we will extend voting until the end of this week. The polls will close this Saturday, October 30th, 2010, at 10pm PST, and the winners will be announced on Monday, November 1st, 2010! So get out and VOTE!

6. Giulia, aka Flaming Food Ninja (Tuscany, Italy), Juls Kitchen, introduces us to Flaming Food Ninja, “a girl who, when it comes to food and sweets, burns with joy and sets on fire with her enthusiasm whoever is around,” shows off her weapon and creates a masterpiece: I’m a Food Ninja! Coffee and Cardamom Creme Brulee

8. Janis (New England), Bite Me New England, has pint-sized Parker as a guest on her blog to present a very convincing case for why his Grammy is a Food Ninja. It’s hard to argue with someone as cute as Parker. You’ve been warned! My Grammy is a Food Ninja

14. Mindy (Toronto), A Balanced Kitchen, tells the tail of a Food Ninja in training who decides to prove her skills by attempting to replicate one of the all-time greatest Food Ninjas, Susur Lee: Food Ninja and Susur Lee

Food Ninja Photos

1. Baking Barrister, The Baking Barrister, gives us a scary visual definition of what a “tort(e) ninja” is:

2. Joan, Foodalogue, Joan’s family has food fights, battled a la Iron Chef, which are published on her son’s blog, Our Family Food Fight, and her own blog, Foodalogue. She explains that they’re part of a very food-centric family and the 3 of them have been doing these challenges for a few years. She says that it’s a great way to spend the day together—and you get to eat at the end!

5. Sherimiya (San Francisco Bay Area), Happy Little Bento, shows how she posts a Food Ninja guard in her child’s bento box to make sure that no one attempts to steal any fruit. A very dangerous looking little guy! Ninja In The Fruit Bento

6. The Bankrupt Gourmet (Marietta, CA), The Bankrupt Gourmet, reveals the craziest thing she has ever done in a cooking contest: grilling pickles.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly blend the spinach, cheese, cream cheese, onions, jalapenos and half-and-half. Fold in the tomatoes. Place the mixture in a 9×13 inch casserole dish and bake for about 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Heat grill to medium high heat. Remove the flank steak from the marinade. Grill the steak about 4 — 6 minutes per side, for medium rare. Cook until prefer doneness. Remove steak from grill and allow to rest for 8 — 10 minutes before slicing. Slice the steak very thingly across the grain.

To serve, place some steak in each cup of lettuce. Top with toasted sesame seeds and diced pear. Serve with dipping sauce.

11. WenLin Soh, a.k.a. Going With My Gut (London), Going With My Gut, explains that if you’re a food ninja, this means that you are a very busy person and need to keep eating well to keep up with your own dizzying pace. So she is sharing a recipe that takes care of your carbs, vitamins, sea minerals and fish oils. She explains that it’s tasty, vegetarian friendly, oh so easy to make and super fast! It takes less than 10 minutes, depending on how long it takes for your pot of water to boil! Super Fast Noodle Salad — Udon Tossed with Samphire, Wakame and Tobiko

3. Sippity Sup (Hollywood, CA), Sippity Sup, shares the harrowing tale of brussel sprouts who go Food Ninja and get their revenge (just in time for Halloween!). If you didn’t think vegetables could be Food Ninjas, think again: Revenge of the Brussels Sprouts

4. Sonoma Bento (Sonoma County, CA), Sonoma Bento, You’ve already been introduced to her frightening ninja egg and ninja star onigiri, but now see this Food Ninja in action in her Food Ninja Bento Video:

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Food Ninja Wild Card

1. @Jeters (Location: um. The shadows? Where else would a ninja be…), FoodBat, tells the tale of a Ninja Baker in this short comic strip:

4. KitchenMage (even Tinier Town, at the confluence of the Columbia River & the Pacific Ocean), KitchenMage, gives us Homemade Caviar — Are you brave enough? Homemade caviar

5. Matt Crawford (Framingham, MA), @wickedrandom, tells about Ninja Tacos: If spaghetti tacos can be a meme, certainly there must be a ninja version. Here is my take.

The most difficult part here really is the “taco” shell. To make these I took rice paper soaked it until pliable. Quickly dredge the paper in rice wine vinegar to add a little flavor and color. Carefully drape the paper over a rib rack or other set of sturdy separated wires. Bake the paper in the oven at 350F for 10 minutes. Remove an place on a plate for filling.

Inside the taco just about any ingredient will do. In these I used a layer of seasoned sushi rice followed by a layer of kale sauteed in sesame oil. On top of this I placed some teriyaki salmon and for the “cheese” I used some silken tofu. Soy sauce, chili oil, avocado, sashimi would all be great additions or replacements in this dish.

6. The Bankrupt Gourmet (Marietta, CA), The Bankrupt Gourmet, shares a Food Ninja Kitchen Tip: I couldn’t stand it when my paper, coffee filter collapsed, and grounds got in my coffee pot. Now, after I put my paper filter in the holder, I swirl a little water around. It makes the paper adhere to the sides. No more grounds in my coffee!

Rachael (and Linda and Paula) – thank you for organising this fab fab fab competition. Me? I am Lame Ninja who has so many balls in the air that she couldn’t juggle one more. I am really sorry. Know that I think you are awesome – and wow – what a lineup of talented of bloggers!